J Dash “Woppin” His Way To The Top!

By Carly Mallenbaum, USA TODAY

WOP this way: Anyone can “do the WOP,” says rapper J. Dash. He’s talking about the dance that inspired his viral hit, WOP (“With Out Prejudice”). You just need to master basic footwork, do the “lean” and “express yaself,” he says in a YouTube instructional video. In his hometown of Jacksonville, there are people “80 years old stepping out to do it,” says the 27-year-old artist born Jameyel Johnson.

The video that started it all: Two of J. Dash’s friends posted a video of themselves doing the WOP (J. Dash’s original dance move) to WOP (J. Dash’s original rap song). Within a couple of months, the video collected a half-million clicks on YouTube. That’s when J. Dash realized he was on to something. He posted WOP how-to videos, commented on clips that others put up of themselves doing the dance and “made enough noise that (label) StereoFame found me,” he says.

By the numbers: The song, which has sold 437,000 downloads, peaked at No. 3 on USA TODAY’s urban airplay chart, and the music video featuring rapper Flo Rida generated 5.3 million clicks. “It’s the most organic thing I’ve ever seen,” says J. Dash

Total transformation: J. Dash is out to prove that he’s no one-hit wonder with the futuristic video for new single Transformer, off his Tabloid Truth album. It’s set in 2099, when rap and YouTube are not allowed by the government. J. Dash must restore social media with the assistance of his “transformer,” singer Lara Johnston (daughter of Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers). “I wrote that before Chris Brown released a song called Transformers,” he says. “Great minds think alike!”

Piano prodigy: At age 5, J. Dash shocked his mom by mastering Beethoven’s 5th on the piano before ever having a music lesson. A couple of years later, he was playing in international competitions and local clubs. “(People) were just like, ‘Man, we don’t understand how you could play so well,’ ” says J. Dash. Then, the young musician acquired a new musical taste

Switching genres: J. Dash remembers it well: He was about 13 and heard Timbaland & Magoo’s Up Jumps Da Boogie. “I was like, ‘That’s a game-changer. I want to produce hip-hop.’ I became a real student of the game.”

Beat machine: In high school, he began shadowing producers in the studio. One particularly memorable session gave J. Dash his stage name. When the producer had to step out for an hour, “he told me I could play with the equipment, so I started making beats,” J. Dash remembers. “I made four, and they were all hot.” When the producer returned, he was so impressed with the young artist’s production speed that he started calling him “J. Dash.” The name stuck.

A showman is born: J. Dash continued to make music in college at the University of Florida. Though he got his degree in computer science, he “did music 22 hours a day,” he says, producing tracks for friends and eventually performing. J. Dash’s second performance was as the opening act for Lil Wayne, who had a show on campus. “It was awesome.” Since then, he has loved performing, most recently for Florida’s spring-breakers, and features anything from African drums (he plays the dundun) to saxophones in his sets.

Soul food:Tabloid Truth offers a diverse collection of tunes, from the emotional track Life (“about the journey of life in sonic form”) to the runway song Strut (featured on America’s Next Top Model). “Sometimes you want to dance, sometimes you want to be introspective, sometimes you want to cry,” says J. Dash. “Everyone is making fast-food music right now. People eat it, and it fills them up for five minutes. I want music that sticks to your ribs.” Or at least makes you move your feet.